Ace Attorney Turnabout Whiplash
by NaruTard 1.5
Summary: Karma calls Wright to inform him that a murder has occurred in his office once more. When Wright denies her request, she's forced to rely on a defense Attorney she would never trust. In Wright's place, Maxwell must once again set out to find the truth, the dark, cold and bloody truth.
1. The Arrest of Karma

Author's Note: Please Read

1: This is a direct continuation of Ace Attorney: Turnabout Psychic(A 'bonus case' if you would humor me) although this follows the trend of the Ace Attorney games and is kind of self-contained; it's highly recommended you read Turnabout Psychic first.

2: Regarding Turnabout Psychic, I have made a minor error during a flashback in regards to Young Mia's age. This is a result of lack of research on my part, however; this mistake has little impact on the story as actual age isn't brought up at any point. The narrative describes 'young' Mia as 17, which is not true; official information states she's 23 during that time. I apologize to any fans who get turned off by this sort of mistake, it will not happen again.

3: I am presenting this story in as close a representation of game content as possible. What does this mean? You may notice *Objection!* *Hold It* and possibly *Take That!* This is the replacement for the animated speech bubble that appears in-game at those points. Also you'll notice the name of certain tracks from the OST of the games, there is a purpose for this; let's imagine you're actually playing this fanfic as a game in the series, put two and two together and there you go. Listening to the music while reading is entirely optional, it's just a fun thing I added to the side. Youtube is your friend if you want to find the tunes in question.

4: Turnabout Psychic takes place after Justice for All ends and assumes the rest of the series has not happened yet. Turnabout Whiplash happens shortly after Trials and Tribulations ends, assuming that the case in Turnabout Psychic happens in-between those two games. If you have any questions as to why I didn't include Turnabout Psychic after Trials and Tribulations, it's because at the time I had yet to play through and finish that game. It's important to take note of the Alternate Universe that these two fanfictions take place in, because it makes things more canon-friendly.

Date, Time, and Location: ?

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: Justice For All – Prologue

First, let us set the scene; our victim lies lifeless in a white office with nothing but a rounded desk, a single computer, a couch, a potted plant, and three windows on the left wall. Of course, the victim is none other than one Winston Payne, a talentless prosecutor ridiculed as the previously acclaimed rookie killer, now he was a lifeless corpse. A certain not so feminine prosecutor lets out a deep sigh as she takes off her soaking wet trench-coat to cover the body, to respect the dead as best she could. Lightning crackles outside the window as she makes her way over to the phone on one of the desks in the room, unfortunately it appeared to have been tampered with; now she had come prepared with her own cell phone of course, but it was troublesome. However the troublesome part wasn't that she'd taken care to avoid disturbing the bloodied floor or the shattered windows that she'd witnessed a dark figure jump out of as she arrived, it was that someone had left her personal tool at the crime scene as well as the murder weapon. Payne looked like he'd been strangled, but that was just her guess, she knew his greeting wouldn't be pleasant but she also knew that she had to call that man and inform him.

"Wright and Co official "I'm on vacation" company, Phoenix Wright speaking… who is this…."

"Phoenix…. No… I don't wish to interrupt your vacation, especially after all that's happened recently but-" The female prosecutor is cut off by some language that she never thought she'd here from Wright.

"Karma! Look…if you're calling to brag about winning another case… I'm not interested, I still got a whole week of my vacation left. You'd be surprised how little me time I have dragging Pearls and Maya all over the country… and before you ask… I haven't heard from Maxwell lately!" Phoenix wasn't exactly pleased to hear his worst enemy calling him on vacation.

"Maxwell…. ah yes, that flirtatious foolish Fong boy; I have no interest in him, but I thought you might want to know that the death count of your office has risen… by one." Franziska knew she was in trouble, a whip was at the crime scene, and a revolver which she had purchased was also on the floor.

"Huh…what are you talking about…is this some kind of weird Prosecutor joke?" Wright wasn't amused judging from his tone, and his mood was probably going to get worse when he found out.

"Do I sound like I'm joking Wright; look…I called you for a particular reason… you're a defense attorney… and the crime scene is your office once again. I was wondering if you'd do me a favor." Franziska trailed off as she looked out the window, red and blue lights were flashing.

"Very funny Karma… I'm not very amused by your joke, look if you want to ask about Max then just ask about Max. Look, I'll let him know you're worried about him…huh…what's all that racket, are you watching cop movies in my office?!" Wright asked in an offended tone as he raised his voice even higher.

Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney: Soundtrack - Thrill Theme ~ Suspense

"Prosecutor Karma! What happened here, what are you doing… you're…"

"Hmm… what a foolish thing I've done, it was the perfect crime…or was it, my foolish elder sister…." Karma hung up her phone and surrendered to the police as the thunder rolled once again, almost as if answering to her voice.

It was a real shame, the one time she would've considered asking Phoenix Wright of all people for help; he thought she was playing a prank on him. She personally didn't blame him, as brutally cruel as she was to Wright, even during his murder trial about a year ago; she secretly wanted to trust him with a terrible secret. The true meaning behind the perfection of a Karma prosecution, oh well, she had a long and somewhat amusing life; she could deal with living in prison. Wright would be childs play for her greatest enemy, her only surviving family member; there was one man on this earth who could pose a threat, Maxwell Fong.

"Karma! Since you refuse to explain your reason for being here… I have to assume the worst and drag you down to the precinct for questioning. Not that it matters, but how do you plead…." It was a certain prosecutor who wore a mask with three red lights over his eyes.

"Tell me Deigo… does it matter… the truth is often more unpleasant than you'd expect. But I'll answer your foolish question anyway…." Franziska paused as she let one of the officers put handcuffs on her wrists. "Guilty…." She finished calmly and coldly, with no sense of remorse in her tone.

"Guilty? I would have never pegged you as the murdering type, let me guess… it's a trap?" Deigo questioned as he tilted his head upward and to the side in confusion for a bit.

"I'm sure he'll walk right into it… I know him, and he knows me; you should be wary of that boy." Franziska finished with a slightly smug grin on her face as she was loaded into the police van like a common criminal.

"Hmm… so it's not Wright you're after… interesting bit of development; that eccentric defense attorney certainly has an odd charm to his ways, there's always at least some method to his madness. I look forward to seeing him in action." Deigo finished with a chuckle as he pondered what was going on through Karma's head, after taking a sip of his coffee of course.

Date: March 3'rd 2019: Time: 9:00 AM Location: New York Airport

New York, the city that never sleeps, unfortunately that meant crime never sleeps; and it wasn't very fortunate for a certain attorney from Los Angeles had been dragged across the country during his vacation; barring his odd call from an annoying Prosecutor, Wrights vacation had gone pretty smoothly. To be honest, he'd only come to this state because Maya and Pearls practically begged him to; that, and Maxwell had sent him a letter of invitation.

"I can't believe it, it's been almost a year and a half since Maxwell left for his hometown to complete his martial arts training." Wright uttered in a discouraged tone as he thought about it, just thinking about Max brought back painful memories of that service receipt from that one time.

"Yeah, but I can't wait to tell him how great that new movie was… I mean; it was because of him Vesquez got to finish it right? I mean, your Murder trial and all that happened during the recording…" Maya chimed in as the trio were led to a cab that had their names written on it.

"It's just; I feel kind of bad that he couldn't have been there on our team for the entire third game. But oh well… I'm actually kind of nervous… and worried about you two…" Wright responded seriously as he recalled something about Maxwell that made him worry.

"Hmm, you mean that whole thing about the feuds between the Fey and the Fong? Nah! Maxwell said he sent the invitations for us to come personally, so it should be okay. I mean yeah he broke your wallet, but then, he did work super hard defending you from Karma." Maya stated with a big grin on her face as she thought about it briefly, wondering what the fights back then were about too.

It was true, Wright owed a small debt to Maxwell, one of the few people who actually thought of him as a hero; Wright did have a lot of fans yes, but none of them really saw him as heroic. He was mainly concerned that Max would remember him at all, since he'd heard a lot of rumors about the Fong family and how isolated their training was. Maxwell more or less just left them out to dry after his debut into the lawyer world; since then he'd been traveling abroad on numerous cases, with each performance becoming more eccentric as the boy neared the end of his training. It was hard to believe that there was actually what most considered to be the boonies in the state of New York, but then things did change with time; even landscapes apparently.

"Is this… really the place… it seems so… familiar somehow…." Pearls uttered with a cautious tone as they approached the gates to Maxwell's hometown after an hour long hike into the woods.

"Familiar nothing; this place… it looks almost exactly like Kurain village!" Wright snapped in surprise as he got a good look at the design of the buildings once the front gates opened.

Date: March 3rd 2019: Time: 12:00 AM Location: Teiyoku Village

Phoenix Wright T&T ~ Elise Deauxnim ~ Simple Melody DS

The hometown of Maxwell Fong, Teiyoku village could certainly give Maya Fey's hometown a run for its money; it had plenty of Asian and Japanese flare, the only major difference, was that it had a massive bamboo gate around the entire village. That; and it was practically a city of its own, featuring many large homes that could house at least twenty people each, it was bustling with men and women of all ages. All of them were dressed in either Acolyte clothes, Lawyers uniforms, or Karate Gi's, upon entering the village even someone with no spiritual gift whatsoever could feel a spiritual energy from the area. It even had a huge outdoor market in the center of the town that sold tons of produce and meat, clearly the village was making some kind of profit from its endeavors.

"Woah, you're totally right Nick! I feel like I'm back home here, kind of weird…." Maya stated with excitement as she realized the similarities, her face lit up as she smelled all the food.

"Well it is definitely different than I imagined but—I just have a question… how are we supposed to find Max in this place?!" Wright questioned in frustration as he felt a little confused considering how many buildings and people there were in this village.

"Ahah! I thought I sensed a new presence in our humble village~ you must be friends of our beloved little Mutt yes?" A beautiful, yet calm voice rang out almost from nowhere shortly after the three started to explore the town.

At this point Phoenix's face went pale, the woman that greeted them was significantly aged, but also significantly familiar. She had her hair done up in a large bun and dressed in a black Kimono with roses on it, though her eyes appeared as innocent as Pearls' eyes; she looked remarkably similar to a woman he'd rather forget. Especially since the woman was carrying a ceramic cup of tea in her hand and sipping from it on occasion, bringing back even more bad memories in the process.

Wright's Inner Self: M-Morgan Fey? But she's in prison right now! How could she have escaped?

"Hmm—now that's a name I haven't heard in ages…not since I was I was that little ladies age…." The woman stated kindly as she looked toward Pearls with a warm smile. "Forgive me… I didn't mean to peer into your mind so easily Mister Phoenix Wright… I shall introduce myself, I am Floria, Floria Fong. I am the head of the Fong's branch family." Floria finished as she took a sip from her tea, not really addressing Maya or Pearls directly.

"We're not here to see a village guard dog; we're here to see Max!" Maya answered in a flustered tone as she crossed her arms and gave the woman a glare. "Do you think you could lead us too him ma'am? It's been super long since we last saw him… and we were hoping to catch up on old times." She finished with a light sigh, for some reason she couldn't stay angry at this mysterious old lady.

"Oh yes I know of your purpose, unfortunately he is doing harsh training right now; he's being punished for causing mischief. Honestly… you think he'd learn from his father's examples; I guess he's more like his mother, which is a good thing… I think." Floria stated with a chuckle as she took a sip of her green tea, wondering what the visitors might want with him in the first place.

"Maxwell is being punished? Did he do something really bad?" Wright couldn't help but tilt his head as he spoke, he didn't know Max that well, but he knew the kid wasn't exactly a troublemaker.

"He has always loved causing mischief, just like his father and great grandfather. Apparently he's been eloping with a foreign girl; and shirking his martial arts training, he isn't even handling his duties to the village very well." Floria stated with a light sigh as she thought about it, Maxwell always had good intentions, but he always jumped to conclusions. "Maxwell is facing his punishment right now actually; perhaps you would wish to see him in possibly his final moments?" Floria was only teasing Wright and his friends, but Max really was being punished.

"Maxwell?! Yes please, we would like to see if he's doing okay…I mean we are his friends after all." Maya answered with concern in her tone as she caught a glint of anger in Floria's eyes.

Without saying a word, Floria nodded and decided to take the group to the training halls; located deep inside the village's compound. As they walked around the town Wright noticed something, every so often a few of them would stop and glare at Maya or Pearls briefly before moving onward with what they were doing. He could tell that there was something between the Fey and the Fong, but to what end; was there really any bloodshed to speak of, even if it was the figurative kind? The small group of friends were shocked when they entered the dojo's sliding doors. There were at least ninety seven men unconscious laid out around the corners of the room, and four more men about twice Wright's size were prepared to attack, and their opponent was Maxwell.

"Tell me those people are just unconscious…." Wright muttered nervously as he stared blankly at the opponents of varying size and belt color.

"Of course, Maxwell has been busy all week… perfecting his mighty Javelin technique." Floria answered with a big smile on her face. "It's actually quite impressive…and his silent fist technique has never been tighter. Those three are still sizing him up for a point of attack." She finished with a soft chuckle as she thought about it.

"Hey, I've heard of that…that's the name of Odin's weapon in Greek mythology right?" Wright asked tilting his head to the side as he pondered the definition of the technique she mentioned.

"Yes it is, it's an arm thrust that Maxwell developed personally, it's meant to knock the wind out of an opponent no matter how skilled they are in a single blow. Just watch, you'll see why he's such a sharp defense attorney." Floria explained with a shrug of her shoulders as she noticed Maxwell's eyes shift toward the group for a split second.

"Oh wonderful, I was wondering when you three would finally track me down." Maxwell chimed playfully as he turned his head toward his old friends to give them a big grin.

At that moment Maxwell started to raise his right arm to defend from a block, which encouraged the smallest of the three challengers to charge forward; unfortunately Max foresaw this and waited until the opponent was too close to dodge a low sweeping kick. As he spun around to topple the smaller opponent, the second largest foe rushed forward and jumped into the air, Maxwell countered by stepping to the side while pulling his left arm lower and further back as he completed his turn, finally the biggest of the three took this as an opening and rushed toward Max's blind spot; resulting in a quick upward thrust from the arm that Maxwell had pulled back, the impact of this thrust sent the man flying backwards at least five feet, while the others simply collapsed unconscious on the ground.

"Idiots…did you really think I'd lower my guard so easily .…" Maxwell commented seriously as he shook his head at Floria's students in disgust. "You really do need to work on quality control for your dojo Aunt Floria. Anyway… a deal is a deal, so how's about that bit of business we discussed." He finished as he stretched his body some before joining the small group of people who were still awake.

"So you weren't joking then, honestly—why that person, surely you'd want to entrust someone a little more buxom? You're nearly as stubborn as your father… but if you insist on that foreign woman, I suppose I can hope she's just as stubborn in refusing you." Floria uttered with disappointment as she turned toward Wright and gave him a short glare. "Maybe you can talk some sense into him, he talks about that beast like she's an angel or something. I'll go prepare the guest rooms and some lunch for you all." Floria finished as she shook her head and walked out of the dojo with a bit of frustration in her tone.

Wright's Inner Self: Hum… A beastly foreign woman? Interesting… I wonder if I know anyone like that.

"Wright…you know what curiosity does to cats right? I think we'll both be in trouble if you go poking your nose where it doesn't belong." Maxwell stated with a chuckle as he patted Wright on the shoulder.

"Hey! What did I say about peeking at my personal thoughts, they're like, you know—personal.…" Wright shouted in protest with a little bit more surprise in his tone than usual.

"Sorry Nick, I can't help it; I'm pretty sure I explained that to you when we first met. I take it you came here for the premiere of Gyakuten Saiban?" Maxwell asked with a smirk as he shook his head, he was pretty sure the author explained that bit in the first fanfiction about him.

"You bet we are, the mysterious masked attorney defending the Steel Samurai in court from the murder of the Evil Magistrates daughter. Nick even got a suit from Miss Vesquez and an invitation to help with the opening ceremonies." Pearls chimed with excitement in her tone, which made Wright facepalm himself on the spot.

The rest of the day was spent catching up on the latest news; particularly the frightening antics that were orchestrated by Morgan Fey and Dalia Hawthorne. Maxwell was quite surprised at how many interesting things could happen, the Mask De Masque case and the Misty Fey murder case were huge news that reached even Teiyoku village's radios. Maxwell couldn't help but feel disheartened for what the future had in mind for Pearls and Maya, considering most of their recent antics.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened, it seems that the Fong were the least of the Fey families troubles after we left. On the bright side, you two are always welcome here any time, you two mister Wright. I owe you a big thanks for helping me get out of that rut I was in." Maxwell replied with a sombre tone as he thought about how broken-hearted Pearls and Maya must've been when they found out the truth.

"Say Max… speaking of family… you never talk about your family that much; I know I promised not to Pry after all that mess that happened in Turnabout Psychic. But… can I ask you one thing?" Wright stated with an honest curiosity in his tone as he raised a brow.

"Sure Nick, I don't mind answering a question or two, as long as it's not prying too deep…" Maxwell had to admit, he was being a bit secretive about his past; but he had very serious reasons.

"Well it's just—your aunt Floria called you the family's beloved 'Mutt' …what exactly does that mean anyways?" Wright tilted his head as he gave his new friend and employee a warm smile.

*Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney: Soundtrack - Thrill Theme ~ Suspense*

"….!" Maxwell paused as he thought for a moment; that was a huge can of worms he never thought he'd have to deal with so soon. "To be honest Nick…I'd really rather not talk about it…it's really nothing huge though." Maxwell finished with a somewhat anxious tone as he scratched the back of his head nervously.

At that moment, time slowed down around Maxwell, Wright had no clue what to expect; but it was very clear that Maxwell was hiding something about his past. It was a dark, lonely secret, and possibly a painful one considering that for the first time; psyche locks were appearing in front of Max. Not only that, but there were four of them, and they were black in color; the conversation quickly changed topics and the rest of his questions about Max's family ended up being psyche-locked too. Wright was utterly dumbfounded, Maxwell was generally very open about himself and his opinions, yet at the same time his heart was guarding some kind of secret. It didn't matter what happened now, Wright's curiosity would drive him mad, instead of losing sleep over it; he half wished something would happen that would allow him to investigate Maxwell's past. Unfortunately for Wright, something would most certainly happen, and Karma's mysterious phone call would be explained soon enough.


	2. Maxwell's Determination

Date: March 4'th 5:00 AM Teiyoku Meditation Room

Maxwell had been up all evening after having a rather stunning vision, a powerful foe awaited him on his return to the lawyer business; he had to admit he was intrigued, but he would've been happier if the spirits would give him some sort of clue as to who this mighty opponent was. The sense of anticipation was relaxed a little bit as the wake up gong going off in the distance; a small smirk crossed his lips as he thought of what would happen next.

"Any second now… " Maxwell thought aloud quietly as he took a deep breath and stood up from the meditation position he was currently in.

The company he was expecting today wasn't Wright complaining about a massive gong going off so early in the morning; nor did he expect Maya to be dropping by to ask when breakfast was. There were only a few of the Fong who woke up during the morning bell, some of them were about to be in for a big surprise; two of them to be more precise, and they were at least hiding themselves pretty well this time. Maxwell couldn't help but snicker as Wright walked in the room still half asleep, while Pearls and Maya were wide awake and somewhat anxious from the look of it.

Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth - Kay Faraday ~ The Great Truth Burglar

"From the heavens I thrust my blade downward to smite my foes! Head of the main family security force- Anna! Face my blade troublemaker!" A young and feminine voice echoed from the room, most notably from the ceiling as Maxwell took a step to the side.

"You guys…. " Maxwell let out a light sigh as he thought for a moment, he knew what was coming, it was the same routine every day.

"From the shadows I strike from the eastern sun to cut down my enemies! Head of the branch family security force-Katt! Fear our tag team … aww not again … stupid psychic powers… " The other voice was more boyish than the previous one, but it was still very childlike.

The two figures looked nearly identical, other than one being male and the other female as they leapt from their hiding spots with real Katana shining brightly in the morning sunlight. A simple attack like this was easy to dodge and redirect, and Maxwell proved it by grabbing Anna by the back of the shirt and tossing her into Katt, sending them both tumbling to the ground; thankfully neither of them were hurt by the steel blades since their edges were dull. Both of them were wearing the same black karate gi with the village symbol of peace on it; even though they both usually just wanted to cause trouble for Max.

"It doesn't take psychic powers to hear you two coming, maybe you should focus more on your kenjutsu and less on your battle cries; unless you're trying out for a role in Vasquez's next production." Maxwell explained as he shook his head at both of his relatives as they stumbled to their feet, very clearly unamused by his comment. "So guys, ready for the ultimate tour of the city that never sleeps?" Maxwell stated with a big grin on his face as he gave Wright a slight glare.

"You bet we're ready; wait … why are we getting started so early again? I mean, half of the stuff isn't even open yet… " Maya questioned with a somewhat discouraged tone as she thought about it, it really was pretty early to be sight seeing.

"It's a two hour drive from this village to anything worth exploring in New York; and of course, we need time to hit every burger and pizza place along the way. On Wright's dime of course, unless he'd like to stay in massive debt to my family for my aid in clearing up that little incident that he had a while back." Maxwell wasn't exactly blackmailing Wright, he was just thinking of a fun way to have him pay him back for his services since he just about died when he saw the bill.

"Fine; I get it—this is going to be a long day … by the way, are you coming back to work with us when we leave?" Wright moaned in annoyance as he stretched his neck and tried to get himself wake up completely; which was somewhat difficult to do at this point in time.

The entire day was spent touring around New York, from times square, to the empire state building; even the statue of liberty wasn't that far out of reach thanks to modern advancements in transportation. The group discussed a lot of things along the way, but Maxwell still refused to speak about his family, which Wright found kind of odd. His curiosity was going to drive him nuts, and during most of the tourist traps; he was secretly wishing that he had a chance to investigate, so he could break the five black psyche locks. Their final stop was a burger place not too far from a movie theater, where they would watch the premier of Gyakuten Saiban, unfortunately Maxwell was running out of topics other than his family matters to talk about; but he quickly thought of something amusing.

"Hey Wright … do you know what Hana-Fuda cards are?" Maxwell asked with a genuine curiosity, considering the guy's assistant

"Oh I've heard of something like that, they're called Tarot cards? Those cards where people try to guess the shapes on the front side of the card? Wright commented with a slightly confused tone as he tilted his head to the side.

"These cards work a bit differently, I could tell you your fortune if you like~" Maxwell offered with a big grin on his face as he got a deck of red cards out of his pocket, the face of every card was white as a sheet.

"Wow, really? That … sounds … interesting… " Wright as usual was less than enthusiastic as per his usual behavior, although he really didn't believe in that nonsense at all, psychics and spirit mediums were one thing, but this was different.

Maxwell finished shuffling the cards and laid out four of them on the table, as he placed each card he revealed that they were completely blank. After a bit of meditation, the cards seemed to glow with a thin outline, Maxwell opened his eyes once this happened and placed a hand on the first card.

"This card represents an event in your distant past … let's see… " Maxwell flipped it over while he closed his eyes briefly, the card that was once white was now a heart pattern broken in half. "I see—very interesting, you were bewitched by a crooked woman when you were young?" He asked with a small grin as he eyed Wright cautiously, waiting for a reaction.

"Dalia Hawthorne, there are some parts of my past I'd rather not be reminded of… " Wright responded with a moan as he rolled his eyes, that one was a given since he'd already told Max that story.

"We'll see how sarcastic you are soon enough; now this card—it represents something that happened fairly recently." Maxwell turned the second card over and it revealed a pair of fists butting together. "You've participated in physical combat recently, with some powerful opponents no less?" He asked curiously with a raised brow as he tried to understand the cards meaning.

"Ugh—the Marvel VS Capcom tournament, that was not the most fun part of my vacation." Wright answered with a somewhat frustrated tone, was Maxwell seriously reading his fortune, or was he just messing with him.

"Woah! That's two for two, come on, show us the future and distant future; I wanna see~" Maya stated with excitement as she clapped her hands together almost like a child would, it was a wonder that she was still so innocent.

Before Maxwell could place his hand on the card a mysterious woman walked by the table and put her hand on it, something about her seemed familiar. Despite a more friendly, albeit bold demeanor she seemed like she had a lot of experience; her figure was the polar opposite of a person her almost silver hair was, almost enough to give any anime nerd a nosebleed or at least convince them to do a double take and ask why.

"Commoners playing common card games, amusing, might I take a crack at this one?" The woman didn't waste any time in flipping the card over, revealing a clownish figure with a depressed expression. "The jester, it appears mister Wright will be made the fool of in court; that says a lot about why little sis won't shut up about you and your whipping boy over there." The woman managed to maintain her polite tone, yet somehow managed to come off as insulting at the same time.

"Little sis…wait a minute…I'm lost…" Wright admitted in frustration as he tried to picture if he'd met the woman or her sister anywhere before.

"Whipping boy? I'll have you know that I defended Wright because I knew he was innocent of the murder straight from the get go. I suppose that you'll take a guess at the next card if you're so good at this." Maxwell was a little bit flustered, but to be honest; he couldn't shake the unnerving feeling of distrust from her

"Hmph…I don't even need to glance at the card for distant future, it bears the reaper…" The woman chimed with a somewhat prideful tone as she turned the card over anyway, revealing a black cloaked figure holding a scythe.

"But…why does the distant future reflect that image, isn't it a symbol of death?" Pearls was a little surprised to see the prediction of death in Wright's distant future, he seemed like a stubborn kind of guy.

"Because like all things, the life of even talented people must end, no matter how happy ending or horrible their demise truly is little girl. I wonder though, why such a comedic little lad like you would take interest in my little sis…either way, I'm sure you'll amuse me to no end in court soon Maxwell Fong. I look forward to our honorable fisticuffs of the law!" Without saying much else the woman almost tauntingly strutted out of the dinner, showing every curve with pride as she did.

Maxwell couldn't help but get the feeling that he'd seen that woman somewhere before, or at least met someone with similar features. Of course he didn't have much time to ponder the possibilities, because another familiar figure bolted into the restaurant in a rage; that scruffy go-tee, that dusty old jacket, the overly excited entry, it could only be one man.

"Prosecutor General! We've got an emergency … huh …" Gumshoe paused for a moment and walked over to where Wright and the others were sitting. " Yo Wright, how's it going pal, say, did a strange woman in a German lawyers uniform come through here by any chance?" His greeting was a bit short-lived, and he seemed in a bit of a rush.

"That odd woman was an Attorney General…interesting, actually you just missed her scruffy." Maxwell couldn't help but snicker at that term of endearment, Karma was always clever with things like that. "So if you don't mind my asking detective, what exactly is this emergency that you're talking about?" He questioned with genuine curiosity, there were few things that excited Gumshoe to this magnitude; other than a pay raise and maybe some vacation time.

"Hey! Watch what you say pal, that's Elise Von Karma you're calling odd; she's a mighty angel of the courtroom! As for the emergency—heh, see for yourself, they're plastering it all over the news …" Gumshoe responded sternly as he turned the groups attention to the tv set that was set up in the diner.

Now even Wright was intrigued by Gumshoe's comment, if it was plastered all over the news then it had to be something significant. Sure enough, the camera was focused on the precinct down in Los Angeles; now normally that was no big deal, however Diego was sitting there smirking at the reporter, as if he'd caught a really huge criminal. Wright didn't really understand why Maxwell's face went pale, until he saw who was cuffed and being dragged to the front door by force.

"Mister Armando, do you have any suspicion as to why Karma would want to murder the victim, who's name so far has not been released to the public?" The reporter asked with a curious tone, the same overly curious tone that most reporters had on interviews.

"We can neither confirm nor deny that Francesca von karma is the true murderer, however, one thing is perfectly clear. Trite, I know you're probably still on vacation, I have no problem with that…" Diego paused for a moment and put a finger to his forehead. "However, I expect a splendid show of force from a certain defense attorney, he knows who he is; and he's probably one of the few who can clear her name." He finished with a somewhat serious expression as the reporters continued to hound Karma as she made her way to the building; of course she refused to leave any comments to the press.

All of a sudden a little light clicked on in Maxwell's head, the Prosecutor General was obviously in New York scouting competition in the country; but she seemed to target Maxwell directly in her not so random statement about facing him in court. Putting two and two together, Maxwell's shocked expression slowly melted into cold hard determination. He stood up, paid for the meal, and walked over to Gumeshoe with his arms crossed.

"Is that Prosecutor General leading this investigation Gumshoe?" Maxwell had to know to be sure, there was something about that gorgeous woman that seemed a little off.

"Nope, Prosecutor Godot is, but Karma is going to oversee the trial as the prosecution. Let me guess…you're going to LA right now to apply to be her defense attorney." Gumshoe responded with a serious tone as he chuckled a little.

"Wonderful—so her own sister wants to incarcerate her for murder; interesting, I think it's time Maxwell Fong stepped behind the defense desk for the first time in nearly a year~" Maxwell chimed with excitement as he picked up his things and headed out to book the flight.

Maxwell would need to prepare a few things before he left, a hotel room to stay in; a special gift for a certain someone, and most importantly he had to pack his fully charged Magatama stone. He had been absent from the court for almost a year true, but that didn't mean he was on vacation all this time. Certainly this would be an amusing trial, if anything else; he would prove to her that he was worth the effort. Maxwell doubted that woman had been missing any human emotions, she just chose not to show them.


End file.
